


lets get it together

by doctorkilljoy



Series: Fic For The Holidays [7]
Category: Comics Industry RPF, Gerard Way and the Hormones, Hesitant Alien - Gerard Way (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Altered Mental States, Gift Fic, M/M, Mild Language, Prompt Fic, and i don't know how or why, this went in a really weird direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 16:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5505629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorkilljoy/pseuds/doctorkilljoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gerard is having a pretty typical, almost boring day at home. At least until Grant's cats start causing trouble, then the day goes from normal to amazingly strange.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lets get it together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [akamine_chan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akamine_chan/gifts).



> So this started out as a fairly straight forward, even simple prompt from the fucking amazing akamine_chan. Which I then turned into whatever the hell this is. This is unbeta'd.

Gerard was getting frustrated. All he'd wanted to do was write a bit about the protection of the space time continuum, but he'd been clicking through Wikipedia articles for almost an hour. Maybe if he were more willing to take notes and treat this like a homework assignment or something, he might have gotten somewhere.

He growled in frustration, carelessly tossing his tablet aside. This happened so often now that it was really getting on his nerves. He'd have a wonderful idea, and want to do research on it so that it at least sounded realistic when he wrote it out. Then upon study he would find that said idea was, practically speaking anyway, impossible. Inevitably, Gerard would either drop it or have to change the entire concept because of one little fact.

He knew he was winding himself up for nearly no reason. Grant had said he was being ridiculous, and privately, Gerard agreed. But he wanted his work to stand up to even the most critical eye, which was why he wasn't getting any actual work done.

Gerard had been a science fiction fan for years, though it sometimes took a back seat to comics and fantasy. He wanted to finally write the science fiction work he knew was in his brain somewhere, but any time he thought he had something he ruined it by Googling it.

He really thought he'd had something with the space time continuum. Gerard had always thought of it as a staple trope of sci-fi, but now he was discovering it was much more than that. Mostly that it was more a mathematical and physics concept than anything. And in order to understand one part of the article he'd found, he'd had to read another, and so on and so on until he felt like his brain was going to leak out of his ears.

Gerard rubbed at his face. He knew what Grant would say if he were home. "Who pumps the Batmobile's tires?" Gerard asked himself, since a certain Scottish writer wasn't there to do it. Grant was saying it fairly frequently now, in order to remind Gerard that fiction was just that. Fiction.

Grant meant well, and had even invited Gerard to stay with him for a few days. Gerard's home wasn't actually very far from Grant's, but they both thought that perhaps a change in scenery would help. Now Gerard wasn't so sure it had been a good idea.

It hadn't occurred to him that living with Grant, sharing his space and meals, it was making Gerard's old crush flare up again. He loved Grant, and admired him a great deal, and the man had been like a mentor to Gerard when they first met. And now, years later, Gerard felt comfortable calling Grant his friend, and a member of his family.

Which was one of the reasons Gerard had decided not to get involved with him, at least on a romantic level. If something went wrong, and Gerard knew it would (he was usually at fault when his relationships went belly up), he didn't want to lose Grant. And he had no guarantees that Grant even returned his feelings. Sometimes, when Gerard would catch him staring, he thought maybe Grant felt the same way. But if he did, he never said anything, and neither did Gerard.

He was about ready to give it up for the day, maybe read or watch some television, when he heard the cats making weird noises. Gerard had always liked cats, but he was allergic which is why he'd never owned any. But when he'd started spending more time at Grant's house, (especially after the band had broken up), Gerard had gotten a series of allergy shots so that he could be around the writer's pets.

But the cats had been fighting a lot, and Gerard thought his presence might be the reason. He'd never stayed over so long before, and it seemed to be stressing the poor animals out. Grant swore they were simply like that sometimes, and not to pay any attention.

Gerard got up, and found that the cats, Ani and Jubei, were facing off in the hallway. Both black cats and male, the only way to tell the difference between the two was that Jubei was slightly taller, and Ani had a Buddha belly. Ani was crouched down, making low growling sounds in the back of his throat. Jubei was similarly positioned, his tail flicking back and forth.

"Hey," Gerard warned, "you two knock it off or Grant's not gonna give you any treats when he gets back."

At the word 'treats', both cats looked up at him. The momentary distraction was enough, Jubei used the chance to pounce on Ani, whacking him in the head. Ani hissed, and Jubei took off for Grant's bedroom. Ani shot after him, and Gerard could hear Jubei yowling. "Fuck," he grumbled, and went after them.

He entered the bedroom just in time to see Ani's tail whisk around the corner of the closet doorway. Gerard softly cursed again, and followed after the cats. It occurred to him that he'd never really been in Grant's bedroom before, and he didn't feel right about it. Like he was snooping around. But he wanted to separate the cats before they hurt each other, so he would grab one and leave the other to its own devices. Likely, he'd grab Jubei, since he started it.

But when Gerard stepped into the closet, he felt as though he'd stepped off a cliff, but without actually falling. His stomach lurched, and he reached out to steady himself. When his hand touched something fuzzy, he thought perhaps he had fallen, and found one of the cats. But when he looked up, he learned that was definitely not the case.

He wasn't in Grant's closet anymore, and what he was touching was pink and furry. Gerard wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed to be a person in an odd animal costume. "Uh... Hey," Gerard said. It didn't respond, and he moved his hand. "Sorry about that, kinda got vertigo for a second."

_'Are you here for the party?'_

Gerard blinked. "Did you say something?" He was pretty sure he'd heard the question, but only in his head.

_'I did. I asked if you're here for the party.'_

"Are you talking to me?" Gerard asked.

The creature tilted its head. _'Yes, I am.'_

That's when Gerard realized this being was speaking to him telepathically. Gerard shivered at the thought, and couldn't help but wonder if he'd actually ingested something mind altering. Or perhaps he was dreaming? His dreams were rarely this realistic, but it was possible.

"Uh... Sure, a party sounds good." Gerard replied.

 _'Follow me'_ , it said, and turned to walk down a hallway. It was dark, but there was track lighting on the floor. Gerard couldn't help but smile. The white stucco, the brown rug, and track lighting? It was kind of 80's. He didn't think much about it until they passed a mirror, and Gerard paused.

He looked completely different. His hair was a ginger red, and cut short. He was wearing red eyeshadow and black mascara, but not much else in regards to make up. Most surprising was that he was in an electric blue suit, paired with a very bright red tie. He wasn't crazy about the shoes, but he had to admit that he loved the rest. The fuzzy thing had stopped walking, and looking at him curiously.

 _'You look very pretty'_ , it said.

"Thank you," he replied, and caught up. "You're kind of different, but cute. What's your name?"

 _'Lola'_ , it said, and Gerard was sure that it was smiling.

"Nice to meet you," said Gerard. They kept walking, the hallway seemed almost endless. When they'd been walking for a while, Gerard asked, "Who's house is this?"

 _'Everyone's. Is this your first party?'_ Lola asked.

"First one here,yeah."

_'You'll like it. They have balloons at the end. And everyone gives great hugs.'_

They finally came to the end of the hall, and walked into a large living room. Though it didn't look quite right. Not just in that the architecture and furniture were horribly dated, but that it seemed to be several living rooms in one space. It was packed, and as he and Lola walked through the crush of people, Gerard noticed something. They would walk from one end of the room to the other, then suddenly find themselves right back at the beginning, but with different people to walk through.

The room was dim like the hallway, but there was a strange orange light glowing above. It made the room and the people in it look ghastly, but somehow still beautiful. It was noisy, but also somehow quiet. There were people talking, but not out loud. Not even telepathically like Lola, it was more like the ghosts of every conversation were hanging in the air, haunting the party. And over all that, he could hear music playing. It sounded like Brit pop, or maybe grunge, but he wasn't sure.

Gerard blinked and shook his head, but he still couldn't quite get his brain to lock onto whatever was going on. It was then that he spotted one of the cats. Ani was sitting on top of a couch, cleaning his paw and looking quite at home.

"Ani!" Gerard said, coming up and petting him. "So glad I found you. Where's Jubei?"

He hadn't expected Ani to talk, but given how weird this dream had been so far, maybe he should have. "He's probably over by the patio harassing the Ruby Creature," the cat said, in a deep voice. Ani for some reason had a muddled Jersey accent, which made Gerard raise an eyebrow. The cat studied Gerard for a moment, then added, "You look good. Grant's going to be pissed, but maybe he'll relax a little when he sees you in that."

"Why would Grant be pissed?" Gerard asked.

"He likes to keep the portal to himself, thinks other people can't handle it," Ani said matter of factly. "You seem to be doing okay though, or at least you don't look like you're going into shock. You don't feel a seizure or something coming on do you?"

Gerard shook his head, then said, "This is the weirdest dream ever."

Ani snorted derisively at that, and said, "A dream, sure it is." He flicked his tail to the left. "Jubei went that way. Go grab the moron so we can get out of here."

Gerard nodded, and headed in the direction Ani had pointed. It was hard to get through the crowd, there were so many people. And each was dressed even weirder than the last, like the New York Club Kids had escaped from their dingy 80's hang outs and decided to throw a house party. Gerard had to admit, they looked amazing.

He saw a leopard space cadet, a Regency clown, a soda pop soldier complete with a Dr. Pepper bayonet, an iron Saint Francis, a pint sized werewolf in an ugly sweater, a demon crossing guard holding a sign that said "Slow Children" on one side and "Dinner Time" on the other. And so many other things that Gerard couldn't even begin to describe. Gerard had experienced his fair share of weird dreams, but this was going to take the fucking cake.

Gerard finally found Jubei, by the patio doors like Ani had said. But Gerard didn't see a back yard beyond the glass, it looked more like an empty void. He shook his head again, and saw that Jubei was perched in a ficus tree, that logically shouldn't have been able to hold the cat's weight. But there he was, behind a person whose hair and robe looked as though they were made of blood. Both flowed downwards like a waterfall, but not a drop spilled on the floor. Jubei kept trying to bat at their hair, and missing by inches.

"There you are!" Gerard said, and plucked Jubei out of the tree. "Come on, we have to go."

"But I don't wanna!" Jubei whined. His voice was surprisingly squeaky and high, like a preteen boy. Gerard nearly laughed.

"Too bad, we need to go home," said Gerard.

"Home?" The person with blood hair turned and looked at him. "Why not stay? The party's just getting started." There was something odd about their voice, it sounded like a man and woman talking at the same time, saying the same words.

"Yeah, what the Ruby Creature said!" Jubei said excitedly. "We can go home later!"

Gerard thought about it. He could stay, it was just a dream after all. But he was starting to feel a bit ill. He could see Lola petting Ani, and the Regency clown trying to get the ghost of a star ship to laugh, and it was all becoming a bit much for him. And then, Gerard felt as though his heart had stopped, and the music was suddenly very loud in his ears.

He saw them coming through the crowd, and Gerard would know those faces anywhere. He'd seen them in his favorite comics hundreds of times. Gerard had frozen in place, not sure what to do. The piercings flashed under the orange light, the leather looked as though it were ready to come alive, and Gerard couldn't help but wonder how he could see with those round glasses on, it was too dark in the room for shades. King Mob was walking towards them, with Ragged Robin trailing behind, and his walk was pure predator.

"Oh shit," Gerard murmured.

"You can say that again," said Ani. He'd been carried over by Lola, who was now standing next to Gerard, still holding and petting Ani. "Any last words, Jubei?" He sounded pretty smug.

"His boyfriend's fine! He's not gonna be mad!" Jubei said, but sounded panicked. "Besides it's mostly your fault for chasing me into the closet."  


" **My** fault?! How dare--" Ani shouted, but then was shushed by Lola hugging him.

They reached the group, and for a minute, King Mob stared. Gerard felt as though he were being X-rayed, and he was nervous. King Mob was equal parts Grant's generosity and kindness, and also horribly violent and brutal. He wasn't sure how he would react. But then Gerard saw a flicker of amusement, and he realized it wasn't King Mob after all. It was Grant.

"Having a good time?" Grant asked, and Gerard grinned.

"I am so glad to see you! Though... You look really different with all the piercings." Gerard rubbed the back of his own neck, still holding Jubei with the other hand. Why wasn't the cat as heavy as he usually was? "I thought you were King Mob."

"For all intents and purposes, here, I am," Grant said, "and we should get you home. Robin, be a dear and clear the way for us?"

"Sure," she said, her tone light and airy, almost dream like. "Nice to meet you, Gee."

"Yeah, be seeing you," Gerard replied, feeling more confused by the minute. This dream had taken a sudden and very weird turn. Grant was talking to Lola, but Gerard couldn't hear what either of them were saying. After a moment, Lola put Ani down, and hugged Grant.

"Yes, thank you so much for your help," Grant said. Lola let him go, then hugged Gerard from behind.

 _'Lola loves you,'_ it said, and while Gerard was surprised by the sudden contact, he felt good. Indescribably good, as though he'd been wrapped in a fuzzy blanket that made his entire being feel warm and safe. It was very comforting.

Grant took Jubei from Gerard when Lola released them both, and he said, "Follow me, we're going home."

 _'Can I come too?'_ Lola asked.

"Sure, for a little while," said Gerard. He would likely wake up any minute now, so what was the harm in inviting Lola to come along? Lola held Gerard's hand, and they followed after Grant, who was following Ragged Robin.  It seemed as though everyone at the party was watching them leave, and it occurred to Gerard that the music had stopped. It was a great relief for him, as it had sounded like the same song being played on a loop.

Once again, they took the long walk down the hallway. They lost Ragged Robin at one point, but Gerard wouldn't have been able to say exactly when or where. It was when they were back in Grant's closet, and he saw that Grant was sans piercings and in the clothes he left the house in, that the penny dropped. Grant put Jubei down and said, "No treats for a week." The cat looked offended, but didn't talk this time.

Lola tilted their head, then asked, _'Why aren't they talking?'_

"Cats don't talk in this world," Grant told it. "Lola, would you be a dear and give us a little time alone? I'd like to speak with Gerard."

_'Okay. Is there TV? And food?'_

"Television's in the living room, food is in the kitchen. Both are down the hall," Grant instructed.

 _'Thank you.'_ Lola let go of Gerard's hand, and stroked his hair. It was once again back to its unruly, mousy brown mop. _'You're still pretty, I want to be your friend.'_ And then Lola left. The cats had long since departed.

Gerard stepped out of the closet, then sat on the bed. His head was spinning, and for a minute, he thought he might actually faint. But then he saw he was back in his ugly sweats and even uglier (but comfortable) shirt, and his bare feet looked quite pale against the hardwood floor. He looked up at Grant and said, "That wasn't a dream."

"I'm afraid not." Grant sat next to Gerard on the bed, and put an arm around him. "It was a very real experience, something very few people have had the opportunity to see."

Gerard turned to Grant, grasping the lapels of his jacket just so he could have something to hold on to. Gerard could feel that his breathing had sped up, and that Grant was rubbing his back and telling him to stay calm. Gerard drew in a deep breath and yelled, "What the **fuck**  was that Grant?!"

"It was the 5th Dimension," he said, keeping his voice soft, trying to soothe Gerard. "It exists outside our concept of time and space. I know it can be a harrowing experience the first time."

"The first time?" Gerard asked, and looked up at him in horror. "Are you saying it's gonna happen again?!"

"That depends on you." Grant pushed Gerard's hair off his brow, so that he could see better. "You remember the story of what happened to me in Kathmandu?"

"Yeah."

"That's what happened. I accessed the 5th Dimension. Though the experience is different for everyone. The party you saw was your mind's way of coping."

"Wait, I made the party?" Gerard asked.

"Yes."

"But what about all the... Things, that were there?"

"They're not your invention, if that's what you're wondering," Grant told him. "Though again, the way they manifest greatly depends on who is seeing them."

"I'm still confused. Like... Okay like Ragged Robin, she looked the same to both of us, right? And same for Lola." Gerard frowned.

"Robin is a dear friend, and chose to manifest as how I see her." Grant smiled and added, "As for Lola, they seem to like being pink and furry."

Gerard felt a shiver go through his body, and he asked Grant, "Then how come you saw the party how I saw it?"

"As this was your visit, and your manifestation rather than my own, the beings there kept the forms they took from your mind. I suppose the best way to put it was, it was your party, and I was crashing it."

Gerard was shaking now, and he said, "There's an alien from another dimension in the kitchen."

"Yes, there is." Grant cupped Gerard's face gingerly, as though he were afraid he might hurt him. "Are you alright?"

"I kind of feel like I need a drink? So, no, I'm not alright," said Gerard.

"I'm so sorry," Grant said, and pulled Gerard into a tight hug. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Hold me," Gerard blurted out. Grant raised an eyebrow and he continued, "I need to get this unfucked in my head, but I don't wanna be alone. So just... Hold me and make sure I don't like turn into a balloon animal or something?"

"As you wish." Grant pulled away, and took off his jacket, shoes, and socks. Gerard had already collapsed back on the bed, and rolled onto his side. Grant got them both situated, and Gerard couldn't help leaning back into the embrace.

Aside from their breathing, it was very quiet. Gerard couldn't even hear the cats, or Lola. Gerard closed his eyes, and tried to sort through as much of the information overload as possible.

When he opened them again, he knew it was late in the day. The sky he could see through the window was turning pink, with a hint of purple, sure signs of twilight settling on the world. He turned over, still in Grant's arms, to look at his friend. Grant's eyes were closed, but he didn't appear to be sleeping. Gerard shook his shoulder and asked, "Are you up?"

His eyes opened, and he smiled at Gerard. "I am now. How do you feel?"

"I wanna make a record."

Grant sat up, propping himself up on his elbow. "Are you sure? Didn't you want to take time out from music to write comics?"

"I did, until I met Lola and went to another fucking dimension." Gerard sat up too, running a hand through his hair. "You said The Invisibles was how you dealt with your experience right?"

"Writing it, it was how I tried to explain what I'd seen and heard," Grant clarified.

"Right. This album, the one I'm thinking of right now, it's going to be how I deal with mine." Gerard moved so he was facing Grant, and crossed his legs. "It's not a full concept album, but there'd be music I want to do, like Britpop, throwbacks to the 90's, the 80's, and the 60's. And Lola could be part of it."

Grant smiled a bit, and said, "I like the sound of this. Shall we celebrate with a cup of coffee?"

"Actually, I had one more question," replied Gerard. "Why did Jubei refer to me as your boyfriend?"

Grant's face fell a bit, and he suddenly looked embarrassed. "Just making a joke I guess?" Gerard raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his face. Grant sighed. "Alright, you caught me. I've been infatuated with you for several years. I've only told the cats."

"I wish you'd have said something to me." Gerard flopped back down on the bed, so that he was lying next to Grant. "Because I've had a thing for you for a long time, too."

"I thought you might have." Grant was laying on his side now, facing Gerard. He gently stroked Gerard's cheek, and he asked, "And where does that leave us?"

Gerard took Grant's hand and squeezed it. "I didn't want to risk our friendship. But after everything I saw today... I think I can take on a little risk. Or a lot. This album is a huge risk, dating you? Not so much. If you're into it."

"I'm very much into it," Grant assured him. He then pulled Gerard in for a kiss. It was soft, and very chaste, as both were afraid of what this meant. But Gerard was hopeful that they could make this work.

Grant smiled softly, and drew back. "Now we should have coffee."

"And I need to see about getting Lola a Twitter account. Or at least a practice one," Gerard said.

"What?" Grant asked, and Gerard laughed and got up from the bed.

"I'll explain after coffee."

**Author's Note:**

> All the characters at the party were made up by yours truly, except the cats, which are named after akamine_chan's cat and kymellin's. Robin is of course Ragged Robin from _The Invisibles_. The song playing at the party was "Get The Gang Together" from Hesitant Alien, which is also where I got the song title. 
> 
> As for why Grant has a portal in his closet... If anyone was going to have a portal to another dimension in their closet, it would be Grant Morrison.
> 
> [Tumblr](http://talkingcinemalight.tumblr.com)


End file.
